Improvement in stuffing leather



H. N. DODGE.

Stuffing-Leather No; 219,233. Patented Sept. 2,1879.

NFEIERS, FHOTO-LITHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON D UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE N. DODGE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK;

IMPROVEMENT IN STUFFING LEATHER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 219,233, dated September 2, 1879 application filed February 20, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HORACE N. DODGE, of the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Stuffing Leather, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

Ordinarily, in stuffing leather, which is generally done by applying to its surface, by means of a stuffing tool or brush, a mixture of oil or tallow in a soft or pasty state, it requires so little skill and considerable time to evenly spread the oleaginous and fatty materials over the surface of the leather, and the latter requires to be previously dampened for the purpose of putting it in a proper absorbing condition to an extent that necessitates a long period for drying, and after absorption of the oleaginous and fatty materials the surface of the leather has to be separately cleaned of unabsorbed matter.

The object of my invention is not only to expedite and economize the process of stutfin g leather, but to do so more efficiently than heretofore; and the invention consists in a novel mode of and apparatus for effecting said result by first dampening the leather, then immersing it in the oil and tallow or other stuffing materials or mixture while in a fluid and heated state, and, as it is removed from the bath in which this is done, afterward passing it through or between a clearer or cleaner, to deprive it of superfluous stuffin g material simultaneously from both or opposite sides of it.

To these ends I use a vat provided with a steam coil orheater, and containing the oil or tallow, or oleaginous and fatty mixture, in a fluid state, for stuffing the leather bythe immersion of the latter therein, and a clearer or cleaner arranged in proximity to the vat, and consisting of suitably faced or covered slabs or jaws made to open and close, and through or between which, when closed, the leather, as it is taken from the bath or vat, is drawn, to deprive it of superfluous stuffingmaterial simultaneously from both or opposite sides of it,

after which it is dried in much less time than under the ordinary process,inasmuch'asit does notrequire to be as extensively dampened to apparatus adapted to carry out my invention;

Fig. 2, a vertical section of the same on the line 00 w, and Fig. 3 a plan thereof.

A is the vat for containing the oil and V tallow used in stuffing the leather B. Arranged within the base portion of said vat is acoil, 0, through which steam is circulated to keep the oleaiginous andfatty mixture in a fluid state. The leather is stuffed by immersing it in said fluid stufling-mixture within the vat A, and

afterward drawing it from one end out of the vat and through or between slabs or jaws D D, faced on their contiguous surfaces with felt or other. suitable flexible wiping material, m. These jaws may be of differentconstructions on their wiping-surfaces. Thus, instead of being slabs, as here shown, they may be rollers but in any case they form an opening and closing clearer or cleaner, between which the leather as it is lifted from the vat is drawn to deprive it of superfluous stuffing matter simultaneously from both or opposite sides. Said clearer or cleaner is arranged in proximity to the vat, and its jaws are made to open and close, preferably, by making the lower jaw, D, part of a stationary frame, E, and hinging to the latter at s the upper jaw, D, and combining with said upper jaw a weight, G, which is also connected, bya chain or cord, f, and pulleys g, with a treadle, H, so that by pressing on the treadle the jaws D D may be opened tointroduce the leather between the latter, and to vary the pressure of the weight on the movable jaw when the leather is being drawn out of the vat or bath through or be tween the jaws.

I is a conductor leading from the vat to the clearer or cleaner, to direct the leather to the latter, and to return to the vat superfluous stuffing-mixture wiped from the leather by the clearer or cleaner. Both jaws of said clearer ing the leather to place it in an absorbing condition, then immersing it in a heated fluid stufling-mixture of oleaginous or fatty material, then wiping the superfluous stuffing-mixture simultaneously from both sides of the leather, and, finally, drying the leather, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in an apparatus for stuffing leather, of a vat for containing the stuffing material, having a conductor for connecting with the clearer, and provided with a heater for keeping the mixturein a fluid state,

and an opening and closing clearer or cleaner arranged at one side of the tank, and in close proximity to but above the upper open end of the tank, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination, with a vat for containing the stuffing-mixture, and having applied to it means for heatin g said mixture and keeping it in a fluid state, of an opening and closing clearer or cleaner for simultaneously wiping off or removing superfluous stuffing-mixture from both or opposite sides of the leather being stuffed, essentially as described.

4. The combination of the vat A, the heating-coil O in the base of said vat, the clearer or cleaner consisting of opening and closing jaws D D, the weight G, arranged to exert a closin g action on said jaws, and the treadle H for opening the same, substantially as shown and described.

HORACE N. DODGE.

Witnesses:

T. J. KEANE, FRED. HAYNES. 

